


Cleaning Up

by Hino



Category: Mystery Skulls (Band)
Genre: Also Arthur being a suspicious asshole, Gen, It's just hinted at, Slight Vivi/Lewis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-05
Updated: 2014-11-05
Packaged: 2018-02-24 05:12:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2569388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hino/pseuds/Hino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Arthur, you need to clean out this van!"<br/>"Listen, you start and I'll come help you later!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cleaning Up

“Arthur, you have to clean out this van sometime!”

A groan of annoyance came from the blonde man as he glanced over at Vivi. They were currently stopped at Arthur’s house, having been on a search through his hometown for some ghosts supposedly roaming the streets and stealing people’s mail. They’d parked the van in the garage, resulting in Arthur draping himself over some old car seats and Vivi trying to make order in the mess they called a vehicle.  
“It’s not that bad!” He protested with a whine, draping his right arm over his eyes. The left one dangled, having broken sometime that morning involving lack of coffee and a car door.  
“Oh yeah?” Vivi asked, lifting up a box. “What do you call this?” She dropped it onto the cement floor, making the contents clatter.  
Arthur looked over with a groan. “But I need those.”  
“They don’t even fit your arm.”  
He got up with a pout, digging through the box. “Who says I can’t have a super cool... car wheel hand.” An old wheel for some out of production car made it into his grip and he sighed, shoulders dropping. “Alright. Just let me fix up my arm and I’ll clean it out. I’ll be about an hour.”  
“I’m timing you, Arthur!” Vivi cried as she put down another box. It was of her own stuff and she took more care setting it down on the ground.  
There was a scowl shot her way as Arthur headed for the door. “Whatever, Miss Majorelle.”

The door closed and Vivi found herself in silence. Usually it was peaceful but today, she felt like change. Humming to herself as she picked up a box, a cassette tape tumbled from it and onto the metal floor, gently tapping against it.  
“Uh oh.” She mumbled, placing a hand over the hole in the bottom of the box and setting it down outside the van. “God, Arthur will kill me if-” Her words stopped as she bent down to pick it up. It wasn’t any tape she ever remembered him owning. Scrawled on the top were the words ‘Violin piece - For Vi.’  
“What on earth...” Her brows narrowed in slight confusion but it let up as she shuffled past the mess and slipped it into the tape player Arthur had insisted they keep. With a turn of the keys still snugly in the ignition, the speakers came to life. Soft notes, seemingly from a violin, filled the air and Vivi felt easy. “That’s nice.” She commented with a smile, turning back to the rest of the boxes. Another one of hers, gently set down. A box or Arthur’s junk that she knew wouldn’t ever be used, tossed carelessly out. More care was taken with the box that contained Arthur’s prototype arms, all messes of wire and metal. She knew better than to mess with that.  
“Really Arthur, do you need all these metal scraps?” Vivi sighed, pushing the boxes away. They were all crowded together in a corner, far away from where he usually stashed his odds and ends. There was more than there should have been and digging deeper into the pile, an old and dusty box found its way into her hands. It looked as if it had been touched once, great care being placed into hiding it. Quickly glancing around to see if Arthur was hanging around, Vivi pulled it into the open.

It was large, bigger than any other box stashed away. The tape on top was thick and messy, as if it had been done in a frantic rush.  
“Is that...” Vivi trailed, spotting small dots of water on the top. They looked like raindrops or, perhaps, tears? Shaking away the thought, she looked over the box. A name was written on the side and looking at it confused her. “Who is Lewis?”  
“Vivi!”  
The blue beauty rose quickly, kicking the box out of sight and darting to the van doors. “Yeah, Arthur?”  
“Listen, we’re having some technical issues, I’m gonna be a little longer.” The sound of whirring accompanied his speech and Vivi could vaguely see Arthur’s metal arm spinning at a frightening pace. “I promise I won’t be long.”  
Vivi rolled her eyes. “You said that last time.”  
A whimper and a shrug was the only response as Arthur rushed back into his room, hoping to stop the mechanical mayhem attached to him. A sigh escaped Vivi’s lips and she let the violin sounds draw her back in. Moving back to the box, she pulled it into her lap and carefully cut the tape with the little blade she kept nestled in her skirt pocket. Never knew when you’d need one. Pulling back the cardboard flaps, she gazed in, confused.

Objects had been hastily thrown in, little combs, brushes, cans of spray. Some spare change was also scattered on top, confusing Vivi. Was Lewis the name of Arthur’s stylish alter ego? Digging deeper, pairs of shoes and socks made up the next layer. They had all been well folded, except the laces were tied strangely, just the way Arthur did it.  
“God Arthur, I could never picture you in these shoes,” She giggled, taking them out and setting them down. The other assorted pieces joined them, slowly piling up in a corner. “These clothes...” Vivi sat up straighter, diving in to pull out purple pants and a sleeveless button-up. “Why do I...”

_“Let’s explore that Emerald cave!”_

“Lewis...” The name seemed foreign on her tongue but it sat in her mind. “Lewis, why do I know that name?” She asked herself, setting down the clothes with the rest of the stuff. Leaning into the box once more, she found a picture nestled deep in the bottom. It seemed to be of a young man dressed in purple. He looked off-guard, as if the cameraman had suddenly pounced upon him and snapped the photo. It made Vivi giggle.  
 _“I wrote that for you.”_  
Vivi sat up straight, looking around. What on earth was-  
 _“I noticed you watching me sometimes, so I thought I’d make something.”_  
It seemed to be coming from the radio. Now she stopped to think, the violin was gone.  
 _“So Vivi, did you like it? I was going to play this live for you, but I was nervous. You know how-”_  
 _“Yo Lewis! Heard you were playing violin!”_ A second voice came in and it made Vivi tense up.  
 _“Arthur! I told you I was busy and to not come in!”_  
 _“Aw come on! Wait, are you making a mixtape for Vivi?”_  
 _“Maybe-”_  
 _“You romantic!”_  
There was the sound of footsteps and the crackle of a mic. _“Arthur, put that back!”_  
 _“I’m gonna hide this somewhere you won’t find it man! You’ll have to perform for Vivi live!”_  
 _“Arthur give it back! Ar-”_ The tape cut off there and Vivi felt her blood run cold. Who was Lewis? Why did Arthur seem to know him? Why was there a box of stuff with that man’s name on it?

“-Majorelle!”  
The sudden call made Vivi jump, head snapping to see Arthur standing at the back doors. “Oh, hey.”  
“You’ve been out of it for a moment there, you alright?” He asked with concern. “Find something mysterious back there, did you?” There was a soft laugh with the question.  
“Actually...” Vivi took a deep breath. “Do we know someone called Lewis?”  
Arthur stiffened, eyes wide. “L-Lewis?” He asked nervously. “I don’t think that we do. Why do you ask?”  
Vivi’s gaze narrowed. “I found a box with his name on it and I found his clothes.” She stood and gestured to the pile. Arthur went pale.  
“Vivi, that’s nothing.” He said with a shaky tone, quickly hurrying into the back. The box was repacked with startling speed and precision, each object going back in almost the same place, save the spare change that was tossed on haphazardly. Scooping it up into his arms, Arthur quickly exited and rushed into the house without a word.  
“Lewis.” Vivi’s fists curled and she quickly ejected the tape, slipping it into a box of her own. Arthur didn’t need to know she had it.

Besides, there was something else going on here.  
And all she could think of was a cave of deep green.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that was okay. It's a constant thought that was bugging me; What did Arthur do with all Lewis' stuff?  
> Also Majorelle is my headcanon surname for Vivi since there's a shade of blue named 'Majorelle Blue'.


End file.
